Movies Like Mi Vida Loca

If you liked Mi Vida Loca (1994), a crime and drama movie directed by Allison Anders, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
American Me (1992)
★ 7.5/10Also crime and drama
During his 18 years in Folsom Prison, street-gang leader Santana rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, Santana goes back to his old neighborhood, intending to lead a peaceful…
2
Bound by Honor (1993)
★ 8.2/10Also crime and drama
Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, as the three are members of an East L.A. gang known…
3
Colors (1988)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and drama
A confident young cop is shown the ropes by a veteran partner in the dangerous gang-controlled barrios of Los Angeles, where the gang culture is enforced by the colors the members wear.
4
Boyz n the Hood (1991)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and crime
Three friends growing up in South Central Los Angeles navigate a neighborhood plagued by violence, unemployment, and crime, each responding differently to the harsh realities of street life. As tragedy strikes close to…
5
Menace II Society (1993)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and crime
A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
6
Belly (1998)
★ 6.3/10Also crime and drama
Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking…
7
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and crime
A tale of an inner city drug dealer who turns away from crime to pursue his passion, rap music.
8
End of Watch (2012)
★ 7.4/10Also crime and drama
Two young officers are marked for death after confiscating a small cache of money and firearms from the members of a notorious cartel during a routine traffic stop.
9
Shaft (1971)
★ 6.4/10Also crime and drama
Cool Black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
10
Colombiana (2011)
★ 6.7/10Also crime and drama
After witnessing her parents’ murder as a child in Bogota, Cataleya Restrepo grows up to be a stone-cold assassin. She works for her uncle as a hitman by day, but her personal time is spent engaging in vigilante…
11
The Grifters (1990)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and drama
A small-time conman has his loyalties torn between his estranged mother and his new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.
12
Gangster Squad (2013)
★ 6.4/10Also crime and drama
Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and — if he has his way — every wire bet placed west…
13
Hoodlum (1997)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and drama
In 1934, the second most lucrative business in New York City was running 'the numbers'. When Madam Queen—the powerful woman who runs the scam in Harlem—is arrested, Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson takes over the business and…
14
The Substitute (1996)
★ 7/10Also crime and drama
When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon…
15
We Die Young (2019)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and crime
Lucas, a 14-year-old boy inducted into the gang life in Washington D.C., is determined that his 10-year-old brother won't follow the same path. When an Afghanistan war veteran comes into the neighborhood, an…
16
Capone (1975)
★ 5.9/10Also crime and drama
Young Al Capone catches the eye of Johnny Torrio, a criminal visiting New York from Chicago. Torrio invites Capone to move to Illinois to help run his Prohibition-era alcohol sales operation. Capone rises through the…
17
Romeo Must Die (2000)
★ 6.3/10Also crime
Two warring gang families (one African-American, the other Chinese) maneuver for bragging rights to the Oakland, California docks. Han Sing and Trish O'Day uncover a trail of deceit that leaves most of the warring…
18
The Corruptor (1999)
★ 6.1/10Also crime and drama
Danny is a young cop partnered with Nick, a seasoned but ethically tainted veteran. As the two try to stop a gang war in Chinatown, Danny relies on Nick but grows increasingly uncomfortable with the way Nick gets…
19
Rise of the Footsoldier (2007)
★ 6.3/10Also crime
Carlton Leach rises from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late '80s and early '90s.
20
Mean Streets (1973)
★ 7/10Also drama and crime
A small-time hood must choose from among love, friendship and the chance to rise within the mob.